Zimbabwe’s arts sector is poised for a major shift after the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) and the Chartered Accountants Academy (CAA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch The Creative Ledger, an initiative designed to equip artists with essential financial and business skills.
Announced at NACZ’s head office in Harare, the partnership aims to close what officials have long described as one of the industry’s biggest gaps: the lack of financial literacy and structured business management among creatives.
The programme is expected to introduce an accredited Creative Entrepreneur Certificate alongside free impact workshops that demystify accounting and business fundamentals for artists, managers, and arts institutions.
NACZ chief executive Napoleon Nyanhi said the collaboration marks a turning point for the country’s creative economy.
“Creatives in Zimbabwe are powerful catalysts for national development. Yet many struggle to translate their genius into financial stability,” he said.
“The business of art has remained an elusive concept for many. This ends here, and it ends with this partnership.”
Under the agreement, NACZ and CAA will jointly design a curriculum tailored to the realities of the local creative sector.
The training will offer two pathways one for artists working in studios and another for arts administrators or managers ensuring the programme caters to different professional needs.
Graduates will receive certifications bearing both institutions’ insignia, a move Nyanhi said signals credibility to potential partners and investors.
CAA will contribute technical expertise and facilitators, while NACZ will use its national footprint to take workshops to communities and arts hubs across the country.
According to officials, the objective is to build a sector that is professionally run, financially sustainable, and equipped to engage local and global markets with confidence.
Nyanhi emphasised that the initiative extends beyond artists to arts organisations that have historically operated on fragile financial models.
“Many arts organisations survive from project to project, unable to build enduring institutions. Our goal is to equip the sector with the tools to become resilient and bankable,” he said.
The partnership signals a broader shift in Zimbabwe’s creative industry, which has grown rapidly in cultural output but continues to lag in formal business structures.
Stakeholders hope The Creative Ledger will help creatives better manage intellectual property, navigate contracts, attract investment, and build long-term enterprises.
“This is the infrastructure for your empowerment,” Nyanhi told the arts community. “Let us learn, so that we can build.”
The programme is expected to roll out its first workshops in 2026, with certificates and the full Creative Entrepreneur Certificate to follow after accreditation is finalised.
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